Welcome | FOOD & DRINK
Leo’s House of Thirst.
Curaté.
Fresh from the farm WNC CHEFS EMPHASIZE LOCAL INGREDIENTS
W
ith the recent boom in demand for organic produce, meat, and farmto-table restaurants, Western North Carolina has become a hotbed for independent, natural food products. Between handcrafted beer using local ingredients, fresh meat from grass-fed cattle, fine wines, fruits, and vegetables, the possibilities are as endless as they are available. “Nearly every item on our menu will come out of the local market,” said executive chef/owner Kaighn Raymond of Frogs Leap Public House in downtown Waynesville. “We work with many local farmers and different purveyors, and we’ve always been here to help those purveyors grow. If you have those fresh, local ingredients for the level of fine dining use, then we’re willing to help support you.”
34
As a result of its cosmopolitan approach towards the menu and its commitment to using local ingredients, Frogs Leap is regarded as a cornerstone of fine dining in the mountains of Western North Carolina. “It’s been a 30-year process in the culinary industry to get to this point in fine dining in America. There was a sentiment then that nothing made in America was at the level of European fine dining,” Raymond noted. “All of these chefs and fine dining restaurants have tried to bring back those great American ingredients because so many delicious things from our own country got lost along the way. Now, those ingredients are becoming part of the American culture again, and people are excited to try those things.” Those sentiments are also closely held by Katie Moore, manager at the Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery in Fairview. Tucked against a mountainside in a deep holler, the small business has been creating some of the finest local cheese for almost a decade. “Every cow we get milk from is unique. Everyone’s cheese is unique,” Moore said. “With these smaller farms, you’re getting milk
